1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a file processing device and method.
2. General Background
Digital photos are ubiquitous and digital cameras are becoming more widespread. Digital photos may be viewed on the display screen of a digital camera or they can be printed or uploaded to a computer and displayed on the computer screen.
Printed digital photos require digital photographic printers, photographic papers, and color ink for color photos. The cost of photographic papers and color ink are related to the numbers of prints. Printed photos are sometimes framed and can be hung on walls or placed on top of desks or tables. Because photographic frames typically hold a single photo, not many photos will actually be framed and displayed. Storing digital photos on computer hard drives and displaying them on computer screens is cheaper than framing them. However it is not convenient to show photos on computer screens because computers are bulky devices and it may not be convenient for viewers to carry a computer with them everywhere they go. To overcome the problem of carrying computers to display photographs, digital photo frames are now being used.
A digital photo frame looks like a traditional photo frame. Typically digital photo frames include built-in memory storage and provisions for accepting external memory cards. Thus, one digital photo frame is capable of displaying more than one digital photo, which is stored in the internal memory or on memory cards attached to the digital photo frame.
When copying digital photos from external storage devices, the digital photo frame generally copies all files (e.g., digital photos) without taking into account whether there are redundant files in the internal memory. As a result, some redundant files may be copied to the internal memory, thereby resulting in a waste of effort and storage space.
What is needed, therefore, is an improved file processing device and method that can effectively copies files from an external storage device.